Poor performance

Member

Just wanted to let everyone know that ICUK are, in my opinion, struggling at tye moment.

I Joined on December 8th and after 10 days or so of erratic speeds (as this is well documented that this happens when you are connected) i was connected at 8Mb/s (ish). That takes me to December 18th. A few days before Xmas where, to be honest, i hardly used the service as i was getting ready for the Xmas break and my Holiday to Singapore.

So on December 27th i fly out. I returned late on the evening of January 10th.

On January 11th i noticed the speed was a Crawl. I emailed ICUK to see what the problem was. Here comes the ICUK 'Standard Reply'..."We believe there is a problem with one of our CN21 servers and have called out BTWholesale to look at the problem for us"...

Ok...i thought...hope it gets fixed soon...

Well, here we are on January 31st and guess what?...No fix. I have emailed, sent ping test, sent Speedtest (which they claim are not accurate no matter what speedtest site you use), snet Screenshots.

I cannot stream Video, Youtube or Iplpayer, my spped is up and down more times than a Wh*res knickers. And what does ICUK say about this?

"We are working hard to fix the problem"...yeah right!! Does that seem like a company who is 'fixing' the problem?

I have been with a few ISP's in my time and i can say that i have a gut feeling that they advertise 'unlimited' to get a few users on board. Get good reviews on here and, as a total shock to me, are rated in the top 4 ISP's.

Now, i work in sales and i have to say if i treated my customers the way they are treating me i would be out of a job sooner thatn that. Which, incidentally is the way that ICUK are heading.

ISP Rep

On January 11th i noticed the speed was a Crawl. I emailed ICUK to see what the problem was. Here comes the ICUK 'Standard Reply'..."We believe there is a problem with one of our CN21 servers and have called out BTWholesale to look at the problem for us"...

Not a standard reply, and actually it was sent by myself in error. The day you emailed in there was a known issue with the 21CN host links (a BT issue which was later resolved that evening). We had a number of similar emails in because of this issue, and I forgot to check what service you were running through. You operate through the C&W Wholesale platform and so shouldn't have been affected. It was completely my fault for not checking correctly.

"We are working hard to fix the problem"...yeah right!! Does that seem like a company who is 'fixing' the problem?

It has primarily been my colleague Niall working on this case. We take every case very seriously and if you were to ever visit our offices you will see not only the level attention each case gets, but you will see lots of the obstacles that we can face especially if we have been unable to identify the fault within our network. This means we have to interact with our wholesale partners which can bring their own delays into delivering a quick and adequate answer. In this instance the fault is external to our network and seemlingly either to do with your phone line or the C&W network / exchange equipment / line profiles. For us this means raising tickets, chasing for replies, and often calling to get action.

Now, I know to a customer, you have purchased your service from ICUK, and probably couldn't give a damn as to how this all works behind the scenes. All I can confirm to you, and to anyone reading this, is that every single email you have sent has been replied to very quickly, in detail, and without "standard replies". We have also followed some of these emails up with phone calls to yourself. It hasn't been through want of trying to fix this, we are as keen as you are to get this resolved, it is a shame that there hasn't been a simple 'flick a switch' solution.

It is with regret that you have now chosen to leave us and we wish you all the best with your new ISP. You may like to check to see if they are C&W based as you may well be inheriting the same issue.

Paul Barnett
ICUK

sistermorag

Guest

Not my experience at all. I had a similar speed issue around the time you posted, and they replied quickly to my email, and had the issue resolved pretty quickly, too. Likewise with a couple of friends I referred over the time.

Perhaps yours is an isolated incident? Chances are you might be taking the speed issue with you to your new provider if it's difficult to pinpoint and resolve.

Member

Are you seriously trying to justify your lack of attention to sort out the problem? I couldn't care less where the problem lies and who with. Stop the finger pointing and take responsibility of a service that you are supposed to deliver. My contract was with YOU, not C&W or BT Wholesale. Which, i must add, i believe you have clearly broken.....but thats for the future.

But your comments just go to prove my point and i quote:

'We take every case very seriously.............This means we have to interact with our wholesale partners which can bring their own delays into delivering a quick and adequate answer. In this instance the fault is external to our network and seemlingly either to do with your phone line or the C&W network / exchange equipment / line profiles. For us this means raising tickets, chasing for replies, and often calling to get action.'.......

One question about this standard reply....why did it take 21 days (plus a few days since) and for me to request a MAC code for you to bounce into action?....yeah, you have taken my emails and problems very seriously haven't you....

It's all too common in this country that we have to put up with second rate service. I for one will not and i will share my experiences.

You say my service shouldn't have been affected by the 21CN server problem as i was on C&W....so why did you not make it a priority to sort my problem out? If you KNEW it was something else why has it taken 21(+) days to sort? Not 7 or even 10.....21 days!!.....something that sistermorag would be more than happy to put up with, it seems, but certainly not me. So i voted with my feet.....although you are charging me for it...good work ICUK.

I also don't care how you have treated other customers. You have treated me unfairly. The service i got from ICUK was extremely poor. End of story.

One last point, if i do inherit the same issue with my new ISP i'll certainly come back and let you know how long it took them to sort out the problem....it couldn't be any worse.

@ sistermorag...

Before you start referencing my comments as 'user flouncing childishly' i suggest you refrain from commenting about my situation that you know nothing about. Unless, of course, you are employed by ICUK??

If i wish to make my self heard and to share my experience of a second rate ISP that is my right. If you don't agree and thats not your experience thats fine too.

But please, lay off the childish silly name calling eh?

I note you said ICUK sorted out your problem immediately...so whats the difference between you and me eh? 21 (+) days i put up with false promises and nothing was done. So why did you get your problem sorted? And as you say there was definately a problem...that is undeniable. You know it, i know it and ICUK know it. Yours was probably the 21CN issue....mine wasn't, it seems.

It is how you respond and sort the problem out. I payed for a service that i didn't get...if you were the victim of the incompetance that is ICUK i wonder how you would be taking it? But that's not your experience is it? But it's most certainly mine, regardless of how ICUK come here and try to justify their actions.